Previews

Spartan: Total Warrior

Spiffy:

Slick controls make combat a snap.

Iffy:

Graphics need to be polished up before final release.

A couple of months back, Sega announced that it had acquired software developer The Creative Assembly, makers of the popular PC game Rome: Total War. At the same time, Sega announced that first project to come out of the deal was going to be the action/adventure title, Spartan: Total Warrior. In Rome: Total War, players commanded large armies on vast battlefields. In Spartan: Total Warrior, gamers instead are given the opportunity to get up close and personal as they take on the role of a lone warrior fighting against legions of enemy soldiers and mythical creatures in an epic battle to single-handedly shape the ultimate destiny of the Roman Empire.

When Spartan: Total Warrior was announced, the folks at The Creative Assembly promised action on an epic scale. At E3, I had the chance to try my hands at an early build of the Xbox version of the game to see if they could deliver on that promise. And based on my time playing, it definitely seems that the developers have kept their word regarding the action.

In the demo, I started off in an arena with my troops facing off against waves of different opponents. The troops managed fine on their own, but unfortunately a few made the mistake of stepping in front of a few of my flaming arrows. The graphics were passable, but not quite as stellar as some of the graphics shown in the earlier trailers. I was, however, impressed by the smooth framerate, which held up even as the screen filled with troops.

The controls in Spartan felt were fairly straightforward, and allowed for the movement and combat to flow naturally. It was a simple matter to plow through the crowds and quickly switch between melee and ranged attacks. A couple of times I got overrun and had to restart the level, but after a few minutes, I got into my groove and was cutting a bloody swath through everything and everyone in my path.

Hopefully, the developers will work on the graphics on Spartan: Total Warrior before releasing the final build of the game. If they do, the fans can expect to see some suitably brutal combat and a game worthy of any true gladiator.